Observations from Steven's Peak

Location Name: 
Alpine Mine
Region: 
Carson Pass Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 12/04/2010 - 16:10
Location Map: 
United States
38° 43' 58.3032" N, 119° 58' 9.588" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Obvious avalanche path
Terrain Trap
Observation made by: Professional Observer
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Pics: I was very surprised by shear quality on ECTNs. If any of these tests had "popped" they would have clearly been Q1.

I wish I was with a partner today, as I feel a Rutschblock was warranted after shear quality of ECTNs. I did a few shovel shears, with consistent moderate results on the same failure layers, with planar shear quality.

Although no fracture propagation seen here in pit or through ski cuts, observed weaknesses will be interesting to track. I think a large trigger on an unsupported slope could still produce results on either of these weaknesses.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
South
Accumulation rate: 
None
More detailed information about the weather: 

Warm, humid day today. I toured comfortably above treeline in a tee shirt. Cloud cover varied between OBS and OVC. Light rain began to fall at treeline around 2:00pm.